Zhulan wanted to call Mrs. Song, but immediately remembered that Mrs. Song was not at home. She signaled the maids to go out and then opened the letter. If it was an urgent matter, she would ask someone to go to the Ministry of Justice to look for Shu Ren.
Zhao Bo's letter was really a big deal. Zhao Bo's letter went straight to the point, hoping that Zhou Shuren could help him so that he could be transferred away from the Jianghuai area. The letter did not dare to mention the Fourth Prince, but it could be seen between the lines that the situation in the Jianghuai area must be bad, otherwise, Zhao Bo would not have been so anxious to find Zhou Shuren for help.
None of the Zhao family members held high official positions, especially after someone from the Zhao family retired a few years ago. There were few people in the capital who were relatives of Zhao Bo.
Zhulan clicked on the letter. She wanted to help not only because of the relationship between the two families, but also because the Zhao family had a deep foundation in Pingzhou. Now that there was a gap, no one could predict what would happen in the future.
Especially since Zhao Bo is the one with the greatest potential to rise to a higher position in the Zhao family, if the Zhou family helps, the Zhao family will have to owe the Zhou family a favor. In addition, their grandson and son are young, so for the sake of their future, they have to help.
Zhulan called the maid and told Shuren that it would be better to tell her about the letter as soon as possible. After the maid called housekeeper Wang over, Zhulan handed the handwritten note to the housekeeper and said, "Give it to the master."
Deputy Steward Wang did not dare to delay and carefully placed it in his arms, "Yes, I will be careful."
Zhulan blinked her eyes and said, "Stop pretending. You will definitely look at it secretly later." Zhulan didn't want to hide the letter. The emperor would know it sooner or later anyway.
In the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Shuren was looking through the records of promotions. He simply treated the Second Prince as air. No matter how many times the Second Prince circled around him, he just didn't look up.
Zhang Jingshi looked for a long time. Zhou Shuren did not hide anything and showed it to him openly. He was not sure why Zhou Shuren wanted to see the promotion record.
And also check the records of prison guards' leave and substitute shifts!
Zhou Shuren checked the names he had memorized in his mind. This promotion record was interesting. Every time the officials he had memorized were promoted or transferred, problems would arise and they would remain in the Ministry of Justice.
Zhou Shuren took the paper and pen, lowered his head and was about to sort out his findings carefully. He had already figured out the pattern, but just as he picked up the pen, the shadow above his head was a little big, so he had to look up, "Second Prince, you are blocking the light."
Zhang Jingshi straightened up and stood behind Zhou Shuren, "I won't block you this time. Please, Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Shuren glanced at the prince out of the corner of his eye. The prince must have heard the noise, but he didn't even raise his head. After pondering for a moment, he understood and lowered his head to write down everything he had sorted out in his mind.
Write them in order from the size of the official rank. If there are some that you can't remember, just find the records at hand and write them down.
There were five officials, big and small, written about, and their official positions were not high, the highest being only the fifth rank. The official positions were well controlled and would not catch the prince's eye.
For five officials, Zhou Shuren wrote six sheets of paper.
Zhang Jingshi deliberately did not leave. He just wanted to see what Zhou Shuren wrote. This was a good opportunity to test Zhou Shuren. Knowing that he was behind him, would he dare to write about what he discovered? The fact that he dared to write about it showed that Zhou Shuren was still more loyal to his father and the prince had not yet completely won him over.
Zhang Jingshi didn't expect that Zhou Shuren really dared to write. He looked at the papers Zhou Shuren had written one by one with a sullen face. This Zhou Shuren not only wrote, but also gave comments and summaries.
What’s interesting is the evaluation. If someone fails to get promoted regularly, there must be some ulterior motive.
After Zhou Shuren finished writing, he rubbed his neck and looked at the dark-faced Second Prince. He didn't want to investigate the jailer anymore. He had already found out enough. The Crown Prince had remained silent, and was using the Second Prince as a knife. He should also prepare to get sick and recuperate.
At this time, the criminal department servant passed on a message, and Zhou Shuren stood up, "There is something going on at home, I will go out and take a look."
The prince then looked up and said, "Okay."
Zhou Shuren arrived at the door of the Ministry of Justice, took the note from Steward Wang, and tore it up after reading it. When Zhou Shuren went back, he didn't know what the Crown Prince and the Second Prince had said to each other. What he wrote was already in the Crown Prince's hands. The Second Prince walked out with a cold face.
The prince was in a good mood and asked, "But is there something going on at home?"
Zhou Shuren said openly, "My friend wrote to me, and my wife was afraid of delaying things, so she asked the housekeeper to tell me."
The prince was in a good mood today. Not only did he find something, but Zhou Shuren did not disappoint him. As expected, he found the hidden rat. "Master Zhou doesn't have many friends, but does he have a friend named Zhao?"
Zhou Shuren had a smile on his face, but he was thinking in his heart that he really had no privacy. "Yes, Zhao Bo has always been conscientious in his duties. I don't know what happened at home a while ago, but he still borrowed money from me."
The prince smiled faintly, "I am indeed doing my duty."
Zhou Shuren expressed what he needed to say, and didn't say anything else. He was concentrating on thinking about how to ask for leave to recuperate, and also how to help Zhao Bo. Zhao Bo did not only want to be transferred this time, but also to seek his protection. Jianghuai was going to have a major purge, and Zhao Bo was afraid of being implicated.
He could imagine how Zhao Bo's life must be filled with fear now. If he wanted to help Zhao Bo, he had to use connections in the Ministry of Personnel. Lord Zhong would probably do him a favor.
At Zhoujia Manor, Changzhong got off the carriage. There was already a maid waiting at the door of the manor. After Changli asked about it, he said to his younger brother and son, "You can play in the manor, but you are not allowed to wander around."
Changzhong saw the whole journey in the carriage and didn't want to play in the farm. "Brother, are you going to look for the second brother?"
"Um."
Changzhong raised his chubby little hand and said, "I want to go too. I want to go too."
He saw many people harvesting crops and he wanted to join in the fun.
Chang Li's face was dark. He knew that his younger brother would not be obedient. He looked at Mrs. Song and said, "Please say something."
Mrs. Song and Shen Xing looked at each other, and Mrs. Song said, "Master, Shen Xing and I will take good care of the young master."
Changli heard it and said, "Okay then."
Three quarters of the farmland on this farm has been harvested, and the rest are paddy fields. This farm is intended to be given to Xue Han as a dowry.
Changzhong took his nephew to the edge of the field and saw his second brother at a glance. The second brother was talking to the steward. He ran over quickly and said, "Second brother, second brother, your younger brother is here to see you."
Chang Yi was so worried when he saw his younger brother running, "Please go slower, don't fall down."
This is my parents’ treasure. If he is really hurt, my father will eat him.
Changzhong grinned, "Second brother, this place is really fun."
Chang Yi picked up his little brother and asked, "Why are you here too?"
"I want to come to the village to play, and my mother agreed."
Changli held his son in his arms and asked his second brother, "How many days will it take to finish the harvest?"
Chang Yi replied, "We hired some villagers today, and we can finish the harvest in one day. We can go to another farm tomorrow, and finally collect the reward from the farm. Brother, why don't you take a few more days of rest?"
"I just can't sit still."
Changzhong had already seen the children in the fields. Some of the children were about his age. They were following the adults, picking up fallen rice ears. They were very thin. Changzhong couldn't help but stretch out his chubby white hand. The back of his hand had been scratched by the grass just now, and now it was red as if it was about to bleed.
Changzhong pulled at his second brother's clothes, "Second brother, how can there be a child working?"